Parents are prohibited from fetching their children—many of whom are students who are stranded in other areas as community quarantine protocols remained in place, government officials said Wednesday.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said this is because travel remains limited as the threat of the coronavirus pandemic persists.
He instead urged parents and stranded students to register with the government’s programs that are designed to bring home stranded students.
“Kahit man gustuhin natin ay hindi pa po nila puwedeng personal na sunduin dahil nga mayroon tayong stay-at-home policy,” Malaya said during a public briefing.
(Even if we want to, they cannot personally fetch their children because we have a stay at home policy.)
“Limited pa rin po ang galaw ng tao at hindi puwedeng bumiyahe na lang mula sa probinsiya papuntang Metro Manila ang mga magulang na gustong pauwiin ‘yong kanilang mga anak,” he said.
(Movement should still be limited. We cannot just allow any parent to travel to Metro Manila from the province just because they want to fetch their children.)
The Commission on Higher Education earlier reported that some 9,000 college students were stranded in dormitories and schools nationwide due to lockdowns.
To address the problem, the government has since launched the Hatid Estudyante Program which seeks to bring home stranded students. As of Tuesday, Philippine Ports Authority General Manager Jay Santiago said over 10,300 have registered online for the program.
The first batch of stranded students are expected to be ferried on Thursday, he said.
Photo: UPLB Community Affairs
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